Any idea on how long Ego is committed to 56v?

I began by searching out the possibility of a battery mower sometime, and the positive reviews of Ego have me leaning that way. However, the cost is a pretty big bite for me. Now the whole operation becomes more economical if I bundle products so I don;t need to purchase back up batteries.

My question then is: With competitors going the route of 80v, what's the likelihood that a year or so from now Ego follows suit? If that happens production on 56v batteries will wind down and eventually that equipment is a set of bricks. I am assuming there isn't a way that an 80v battery could work in a 56v machine. If that even seems potentially true, then I would have to look at some of the competitors, because while they could also change the cost differenctioal makes the hit less biting.

The voltage of the battery is only half the picture here with cordless tools. With EGO's tools and batteries, you have a gamut of power that's behind each battery model type and this depends on how much current you can supply the motor of the tool being used. For example, the chainsaw can actually pull more power from the 5.0Ah battery than it can the 2.5Ah battery, even though the operating voltage remains the same. This applies to the lawn mower and snow blower as well.

This is precisely where EGO differs from many other cordless tool manufacturers in that they have 1, 2 and 3-wide type batteries. I almost guarantee you that EGO's 56-volt 7.5Ah battery stomps anything that GreenPower's 80-volt 4.0Ah battery powers because it literally has more cells to allow power to be pulled from.

Don't get caught in the marketing trap of pure voltage numbers, because there's more to it than just the width of the lane so to speak.

I have no insight into Ego R&D but I expect the 56V batteries to be available for many years to come. Remember that power is as much a function of amps as it is of volts. Most companies improve discharge rates by raising the cell voltage, presumably because that's the easiest way to do it. Ego has taken a different tack with their snow blower: running two batteries in parallel (still at 56V) to double the available power.

This is a best of both worlds for consumers because they can use the same batteries in high draw tools as they do in low draw ones, and to your point it keeps the same battery form factor on the market for a long time. I wish more companies would take this approach but I think they are drawn to the marketing of "<high number> volts."

I hope Ego stays with the current 56V pack for a long time, and resists the urge to go higher. 56V is already a lot, and any increase is mostly just due to marketing hype (80v is better than 56v because....more!).

As physics tells us, Power= current x Voltage. More voltage means your batteries need to output less current, which equals less heat and cheaper, low spec batteries. But once past 48v, I really feel the difference is quite minimal. The Ego battery pack is perfectly capable of outputting the necessary current (and then some!). Brushless speed controllers also get pricey as the voltage increases, so I'm not sure there is a financial incentive to go higher either.

Additionally, 80v is A LOT. 56v is quite a bit, but touching 50v with dry hands will likely not result in a shock. Wet hands likely will, but it's likely not severe. 80V DC on the other hand, will almost certainly be painful, wet or dry. They do a good job of encasing the contacts in plastic for the battery pack so morons can't touch them, but nobody is perfect. IF there's a way to be shocked, people WILL find it, and 56v is quite a bit safer than 80v.

Bottom line, I don't think there is any reason Ego needs to go 80v. Their products are powerful enough as it is, and I think the extra hazard and potential component cost of the higher voltage outweigh any benefits. I hope Ego feels the same way, but only time will tell.

I don't understand - I've never been shocked by a battery unless I was truly asking for it, like sticking my wet tongue between the contacts of a 9-volt battery. Is this about the battery becoming a part of residual static electricity shocks?

The danger of being electrically shocked has always been a factor of how much current is available (and in this case, resistance), not the voltage. Absent all other paths of minimizing electrical resistance like wet hands, the human body isn't a good conductor of electricity and will then hardly complete the circuit between the battery contacts.

Voltage, current, and resistance are all going to play a role. You are correct that current is usually going to be the thing doing the damage, but you cannot separate voltage, resistance, and current. They are all intertwined by Ohm's law.

Current = Voltage/Resistence. If resistance is constant, higher voltage will translate to more current, which means a greater hazard. The increase may not be huge, but in this case it's unwarranted, and I'm not sure why Ego would take the risk unless there were big advantages. Given how well the current products work, I'm not sure what the advantages would be.

If your hands are dry, on a dry day, and you grab a 48v battery by the terminals, you wont feel a shock. If they are wet you will. At 50v and up you start feeling the shock. Again with dry hands on a dry day. So at 80v. Your going to feel it alot compared to 50 or in this case 56.

Now dont go and grab the battery terminals on your battery.

So staying below 50v is best due to this. But then again, when are your hands dry and its a dry day....

Point. Keeping voltage down is a good thing. Less potential energy there to kill you.
And yes amps are what hurt you, but they have to be conducted to you first.

I believe Ego has shown us the future of their product plans with the new snowblower. It uses two of their 56V batteries in parallel to increase the amount of power on tap and available capacity. They call this "peak power technology".

I would think any tools they come up with in the future that need more power will use the same two battery setup. Problem solved! :-)

I plan on using it until I get something else. The batteries will be around for years. I don't understand the whole shock hazard problem. Doesn't everyone still use a hole in the wall where they insert some metal pins to expose them to 110 and 220 volts.

Just use it normally. Don't try to touch the contacts with your tongue or fingers. If your tool stops running charge it.

The point is, there is more than likely more liability insurance associated with an 80v battery vs a 56v battety. With that i would assume ego will not change to a higher voltage platform, as there is no reason for it.

I have not seen the new outlets anywhere except on power strips. However given that the pins being inserted are the parts you can easily touch I don't see what difference it makes unless you have kids that stick things in the socket.

Well they are called tamper resistant outlets and we aren't discussing that here. The point is, if someone can do it on accident, they will. And then they get to blame the company who sold them the battery. Because common sense isn't common, I think ego will stay with the 56v platform. That is what this discussion is about. Please keep on track. I mean no disrespect.

It only takes about 20 to 30 ma for a period of time to kill you so they are all dangerous when your sweating and decide to see if the battery is working good. When a powerful device can run down a big battery in 20 minutes or so there is a lot of amperage there.

Yes but keep in mind the delivery method is voltage. The higher the more dangerous. Now the amount of amps behind that will mess you up. The 20-30 ma your talking about is what disrupts your heart beat right?

The EGO 56v battery system is better than others 60v and 80v systems. I researched Greenworks, Kobalt, Ryobi, Echo, Workx before buying EGO tools. While other systems may have higher voltage, the have either poor designs, smaller batteries, build quality wasn't as good. The Greenworks/ Kobalt system only has one battery size. I like there blower push button better though. I like that EGO has different battery choices. The 5ah is over kill for the blower in my Florida yard, no leaves, just grass clippings, so the 2-2.5ah battery works. I have a small yard, but still use the 5ah battery in the mower.
I watched one YouTube video where the guy took apart an Echo 58 volt battery, it's design was pretty poor and it didn't have any more power than a 56 volt EGO battery. Another plus for me is the charge time 30 mins for a 5ah battery vs 60-90 mins for a 80v battery that has the same run time. EGO 56v blower has more power than Greenworks/ Kobalt 80v pro blower. It actually has more power than my dad's Hitachi gas blower! I think 56v is the right balance of power and run time.